Rite: Lesser Mourning
Level Two Through the Lesser Rite of Mourning the Garou honor a dead hero with a small personal ceremony commemorating the great deeds and virtues of the dead. Unlike the Gathering for the Departed or Rite of Lasting Glory, which takes place once and soon after death, the Rite of Mourning can take place many times (often annually). There should be no more than ten participants at this rite, and only those closest to the memory of the departed partake in this intimate ceremony; loved ones, offspring, packmates and the closest of allies. The execution of the rite varies greatly from situation to situation and from tribe to tribe, but the most common version is moderately complex. The ritemaster calls the participants to him, and declares the name and deeds of the one to be honored. This can take the form of a long mournful cry, or a barely audible groan. This is followed by a small period of silent contemplation by everyone involved as they meditate upon what is lost. Then one by one the participants approach the site of worship (a dedicated shrine, a grave marker or something else representing the deceased) to offer a small token or gift of remembrance. This token my be a physical object like a weapon or fetish, or a symbolic offering like a teardrop or a smear of one's own blood. Upon the offering each one offers a remark on why they honor the deceased (whether for a personal reason, or for some quality or virtue they believe the deceased embodied in their life). As the mourners settle in front of the site of worship the ritemaster leads them in a sharing of tales of the deceased, where everyone shares their fond memories. This is often followed by a chant or song led by the ritemaster, but performed by all, calling on the deceased to watch over them and lend them his strength and virtue in their continuous struggle. As the song concludes the deceased may sometimes appear for a small delicate period of time to be with those closest to him again in his life. (It is not unhear of for those so honored to become ancestor-spirits due to the love and respect offered them during this ritual. After the spirit dissipates, if it shows at all, the participants give a farewell howl before breaking company or partaking in some revelry or another. System: The ritemaster must succeed on a Charisma+Rituals roll diff 8 minus the the rank of the honored Garou, with additional minus 1 for every five participants. On a marginal success (one success) the honored receives one posthumous point of honor. On a moderate success (two successes), the honoree receives an amount of posthumous Renown equal to the number of participants, to be distributed among the categories the deceased is being honored for. The participants all receive one point of Honor. On a complete success ( three successes), the deceased receives Renown equal to the total ranks of all participants divided by two. The participants all receive an Honor reward equal to the rank of the deceased. With four or five successes the deceased has a chance of appearing as an apparition to comfort the participants; if this happens, the participants all have their Willpower replenished. If six or more successes are achieved the spirit is sure to appear unless somehow restrained, and the Storyteller should consider rewarding the participants with an extra point in Ancestor Background, representing the ancestor-spirit of the deceased. Although the rite can be preformed more than once for any given hero, all rites of mourning after the first have no game effect, Renown gains or otherwise.